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Polymer exhaust for eliminating extruder transients

a technology of extruder transient and polymer, which is applied in the direction of additive manufacturing processes, manufacturing tools, and applying layer means, etc., can solve the problems of uneven surface of parts, uneven extrusion rate, and uneven extrusion rate, so as to improve resolution and reduce post-processing of baam parts , the effect of improving print quality

Active Publication Date: 2019-02-14
UT BATTELLE LLC
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  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text is about a method and apparatus for big area additive manufacturing (BAAM) that improves print quality, resolution, and reduces post-processing for parts. The invention solves the problem of residual pressure inside the extruder's barrel by placing an exhaust port near the end of the barrel and using a diverter valve to switch polymer flow between the nozzle outlet and the exhaust port. The result is improved part quality with minimal roughness at the seams, finely controlled starts and stops, and high quality seams and fine resolution that minimize post-processing. In summary, the invention allows for better quality and efficiency in BAAM.

Problems solved by technology

At the beginning of extrusion, the extrusion rate is unsteady for a period of time due to the transient response of the system.
Therefore, there can either be too much or too little material deposited at the location where the extruder stopped and / or restarted.
This leads to unevenness across the part surface and geometric irregularities at seams.
This solution has limited effectiveness, however.
This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to fully compensate for the dynamics of the system during starts and stops.
However, this did not improve the start of an extrusion.
In fact, it made it worse.

Method used

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  • Polymer exhaust for eliminating extruder transients
  • Polymer exhaust for eliminating extruder transients
  • Polymer exhaust for eliminating extruder transients

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Embodiment Construction

[0014]The present invention provides methods for making an article with an additive manufacturing machine wherein working material is deposited on a deposit surface to form an article constructed from multiple or iterative layers or additions of such material.

[0015]Although not required, the subject invention is preferably used in connection with large scale polymer added manufacturing, also termed “big area additive manufacturing” or BAAM, such as the schematic shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows a frame or gantry 90 for containing a build on surface 55. The gantry 90 preferably contains a deposition arm 60 that is moveable through the x, y and z-axis, via a controller (not shown). The deposition arm 60 preferably accommodates a supply of working material and a deposition nozzle 80. The supply of working material may be onboard the deposition arm 60 and / or remotely supplied from a hopper or similar storage vessel.

[0016]Although generally referenced herein as “molten material” or “polymer...

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Abstract

An additive manufacturing method that includes an extruder providing a supply of working material and a nozzle connected with respect to the extruder, the nozzle directing the working material to a deposit surface. A diverter valve is positioned between the extruder and the nozzle to direct the working material to an exhaust port away from the deposit surface under certain conditions.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application, Ser. No. 62 / 543,062, filed on 9 Aug. 2017. The co-pending Provisional Application is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety and is made a part hereof, including but not limited to those portions which specifically appear hereinafter.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT[0002]This invention was made with government support under Contract No. DE-AC05-000R22725 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The government has certain rights in the invention.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0003]This invention relates to additive manufacturing, and more particularly to methods and apparatus to optimize big area additive manufacturing (BAAM).BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0004]Big area additive manufacturing (BAAM) is a method of additively manufacturing large parts. A typical BAAM system uses a single screw extruder to deposit molten polymer, which b...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): B29C64/209B29C64/106B29C64/321B29C64/357
CPCB29C64/209B29C64/106B29C64/321B29C64/357B33Y10/00B33Y30/00B33Y40/00
Inventor CHESSER, PHILLIP C.POST, BRIAN K.SALLAS, MATTHEW R.ROSCHLI, ALEX C.LIND, RANDALL F.LOVE, LONNIE J.
Owner UT BATTELLE LLC
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